[Bluewater2015]

The only way to deal with the kind of apathy that caused the death of Kitty Genovese, and for that matter, the death of the Democratic operative who was killed on the DC Metro recently over a cell phone, is to criminalize failure to come to someone's aid in such circumstances. Obviously, the little old lady, or guy in a wheelchair wouldn't be indicted, but able bodied folks might be. So they'd be steered to action--at least after the first few convictions.

[MeganC]

The problem in New York City in 1964 and to a great extent today is that the NYPD has effectively criminalized the notion of coming to someone else’s aid. My husband told me of a time he was in NYC and stopped a mugger and the first cop to show up tried to arrest my husband for assaulting the mugger! What happened to that cop made the news and my husband showed me the NYT article from 1986!

Things have not changed. The NYPD does not want anyone defending themselves let alone others. DC and any other liberal city are no doubt just the same.